


Cry for Eden

by Palatinedreams



Series: Song Tales [2]
Category: Stargate Atlantis
Genre: Action/Adventure, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Developing Relationship, Hurt/Comfort, Inspired by the song 'Loreley' from Lord of the Lost, Longing, M/M, Memories, Mystery, Off-World, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Post Season 5, Suppressed Feelings, adaption of the Loreley tale, hunger, old tales
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-11-12
Updated: 2020-11-12
Packaged: 2021-03-09 22:14:55
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,478
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27523678
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Palatinedreams/pseuds/Palatinedreams
Summary: Set post season 5, Atlantis has returned to Pegasus, and Todd is a regular member of John's team.John, Todd and Rodney come to a beautiful world that looks like a paradise, but it is a paradise of no return because the DHD isn't working, and so they'll need the help of the Edonians who are living in this paradise - but whose numbers of people have been diminished more and more over the centuries because of a mysterious and invisible threat lurking somewhere at the river where their towns are located.While Rodney does his best to make the DHD work again, John and Todd decide to take a boat trip on the river to find out the truth about the old tales the Edonians told them about a blond woman luring sailors into death with her voice and her magic skills...This story is a Wraith retelling of theLoreley-tale, the tale about a blond maid living on a rock by the river Rhine and luring sailors into death with her siren song, and it is very strongly based on the songLoreleyfrom the German Industrial Metal BandLord of the Lost.
Relationships: John Sheppard/Todd the Wraith
Series: Song Tales [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2011660
Comments: 8
Kudos: 12





	Cry for Eden

**Author's Note:**

  * For [dragonflower1](https://archiveofourown.org/users/dragonflower1/gifts).



> I always listen to music and special songs when I write my stories, and songs and music often inspire my muse to write special fics. This is one of them. The tale of the blond maid _**Lorelei/Loreley**_ , who is sitting on a rock high above the river Rhine and making the boats and ships of unfortunate sailors crash on the rock and sink, is actually based on the Greek tale of the nymph Echo, and it's well-known in Germany. 
> 
> Loreley is also said rock where the blond maid lived upon according to the tale, and the river Rhine was dangerous to travel upon with ships in the past right where this rock is, and it actually still is, even though the boats and ships are bigger and much safer nowadays. The region **Upper Middle Rhine Valley** where the rock Loreley is located almost right in the middle of it is part of the _**UNESCO World Heritage**_ and a real paradise, beautiful and worth a visit, with countless castles and castle ruins, beautiful half timber villages, delicious wine and prominent rocks at each side of the river. The world New Edony I've created for this story is meant to look like this amazingly beautiful region.
> 
> A big shout out goes to **dragonflower1** to which I dedicate this story as they introduced me to **Lord of the Lost** and their song _Loreley_. Without you, my dear friend, this fic wouldn't exist, as I'd surely never have stumbled upon their song by myself, and now it's one of my forever favorites, that's for sure!
> 
> This story is very closely based on the songtext, and the title _**'Cry for Eden'**_ is one line of the songtext and seemed so fitting as the title for this story. <33

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> John, Rodney and Todd have to flee from the attack of a hostile Wraith faction right when they are exploring a forgotten outpost of the Ancients, and they dial several gate addresses to avoid leading the Wraith to Atlantis. Unfortunately, the last address dailed to a world they are now stuck on, a beautiful paradise, but a paradise of no return if they won't find a way to make the DHD work and dial out again.  
> The people living in this paradise appear to be mostly friendly, even though they have once fled to this world from the Wraith and are suspicious of Todd and his intentions, but they also seem to hide something, and Todd can feel something dark and dangerous lurking somewhere hidden in this world...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The last week has been a complete nightmare, and as writing is always my valve, I started writing on this fic while listening to _Loreley_ from _Lord of the Lost_ in an endless loop, which really helped me making it through the past days and nights. Thank you so much for always having been there for me when I needed you this week, my friend. <33

“What's wrong with the DHD, McKay?”

Sheppard's voice sounded impatient as he glowered reproachfully at the dark and silent ancient device that resisted each and every one of Dr. McKay's attempts to bring it back to life again.

Todd leaned back against the fallen rock next to the DHD with his arms folded across his chest as he watched the human scientist's struggles and fruitless tries with something akin to resigned curiosity, and he just returned Sheppard's heated glare when the dark-haired colonel shifted his angry attention towards him now instead of his teammate and hissed:

“What about helping McKay instead of just standing there gawking, Todd?”

“It's flattering how you're always overestimating my abilities, Sheppard,” the ancient Commander gave back with a shrug of his shoulders – a human gesture he'd somehow unconsciously internalized over the long course of time that he was already dealing with the New Lanteans on a regular basis by now. “But I must remind you that I am Wraith, not a magician. Not even I can bring this DHD back to life without something I can use as an expedient and strong enough power source, regardless of my surely valuable knowledge and vast amount of experience.”

Sheppard's admittedly quite fascinating hazel-green eyes darkened to the displeased and annoyed dark gray-green Todd had become familiar with over the same course of time which had passed since their first remarkable encounter in Kolya's dungeon, and the Wraith could see that his human brother blamed him for the current situation they found themselves stuck in – like he always did when they got into trouble.

Atlantis had returned to Pegasus from Earth a few months ago, and the alliance he and Sheppard were building since then was still fragile. Todd had been a regular member of John's team during their off-world missions after their arrival in the small galaxy that circled around the much larger one which the New Lanteans called Andromeda, and things were still tense between Todd and the rest of the team, mostly thanks to Ronon Dex. The Satedan was not as openly hostile as he'd once been any longer, but Todd had secretly been pleased when Sheppard had asked him to join him and Dr. McKay on a mission without Ronon and Teyla.

Lorne's team had lent Dr. Beckett a helping hand on a planet where the Hoffan disease had started to spread, and one of the settlers had told them about a planet with an outpost of the Ancients which seemed worthy enough to be checked out. As there hadn't been any Wraith activity evident on this planet lately, John had deemed the place safe enough to just take the blue-eyed genius and Todd with him, eager to leave Atlantis for a couple of hours after having been stuck in the city for more than a week - due to the overlong and tedious negotiations with the committee of three planets Woolsey wanted to be joining their new alliance.

Throwing all caution to the winds, Sheppard had literally grabbed McKay and Todd by their arms and dragged them to the gate room to visit the planet with the mysterious outpost. Unfortunately, the only thing they'd found there were several gate addresses they hadn't known about beforehand, and which had been new and unknown even to Todd himself - and right when they'd prepared to return to Atlantis they'd suddenly been attacked by a hostile Wraith faction that didn't belong to Todd's Hives.

Looking back it pretty much appeared to be a carefully set-up trap, but it was too late to 'lament over spilled milk' now like the humans from Earth liked to say. Sheppard with his astonishing memory had dialed one of the new addresses he'd saved there for further use, doing that in order not to lead the hostile Wraith to Atlantis – which new position in Pegasus after her return was still kept as a careful secret. He'd done the same again after their arrival on the next world to cover their traces, and they'd been jumping from one world to the next in a hurry and without really checking where they went. After three more other and so far unknown planets, they'd arrived on this one – thinking themselves to be safe enough to return to the City of the Ancients now. Taking a closer look at the DHD then had proven quickly that their luck had finally run out, because the device they needed to dial the next address again remained dark and dead, and it wouldn't work without a new power source.

“I would advise that we take this path instead of trying the impossible,” Todd continued when Sheppard just let out a frustrated growl in response. His sharp eyes had discovered the overgrown path while McKay had been busied with the DHD and with cursing under his breath, and it was clearly of artificial nature, even though it looked as if it hadn't been used for a long time. The Ancients had never installed their precious Stargates on worlds without any use for them, so even if this world was abandoned after thousands or hundreds of years by now, there might still be ruins and other remains of the former civilization left which they could perhaps use as a fresh power source for the DHD.

This planet also looked pretty much like a paradise come true, with a perfect climate and breathtakingly beautiful nature as far as Todd had been able to make out so far, and it was worth exploring a little bit further in his opinion instead of wasting their energy and time with more futile attempts to make the dialing console work without a fresh energy source.

“A path?” Sheppard grumbled, “why didn't you say that sooner?”

Todd inclined his head to hide his amused grin from his furious human brother. “I apologize, Sheppard. As the skilled soldier you are, I'd assumed that you'd already noticed it and were just politely waiting for Dr. McKay to admit that even his genius can't do miracles on this DHD...” he drawled, pulling an outrageous noise from the mentioned genius.

“I can do miracles, Todd! I have proven that often enough even for you to acknowledge my skills!” the scientist snapped indignantly, and Todd offered him a genuine smile.

“That you did, Dr. McKay, and your astonishing ways of making the impossible possible never fail to impress me. But you will agree with me that we'll need a new energy source to dial out from here – even if it's only to send a note to Atlantis so they can come here with a Jumper to pick us up.”

“Hmm, yes,” McKay admitted at last, and Todd suppressed a sigh of relief. He'd started to feel a strange pressure in the back of his mind a couple of minutes ago or so, but no matter how hard he tried to grasp it, each time he tried to take a hold of it, it slipped away again, and he felt the strong urge to leave this place and walk along the path to see what they would find at the other end of it.

“Let's go, then,” he said as he started off towards the bushes where the small trail began, and Sheppard thankfully simply followed him with McKay in tow. The pressure in his mind eased with every step he took away from the Stargate, and Todd could feel something dark and dangerous lurking in the shadows and waiting for them, in spite of the paradise-like beauty of this seemingly abandoned and peaceful planet. It was probably just the anxiety and dread emanating from McKay like always when he found himself on an unknown planet, though, nothing real, and Todd simply let himself be affected by McKay's feelings too much and too easily after spending so much time in his company, so he'd better just ignore the sense of an ominous threat waiting for them.

The ancient Commander pressed his lips together and kept walking, following the urge that was pulling him forward until they reached the end of the path after two or three hours and saw that this world wasn't as empty and abandoned as they'd first thought.

Still a paradise, but one that was claimed by another human species obviously.

There was a large river in front of them, its waters flowing rapidly, and a rather large village was nestled in between the soft green hills near the river's shore, a village that was apparently brimming with life and activity.

The village was not what had stopped Todd dead in his tracks, though, it was the five grimly looking men holding spears and swords in their hands, the tips of each weapon pointing directly at his throat and his chest.

Todd came to an abrupt halt and stared at the five warriors, and the unknown villagers stared back at him with narrowed eyes for a moment until one of them, probably their leader, stepped forward and asked:

“Who are you, and what are you doing here? The Wraith are not welcome on this world!”

*~*~*

Two of his men raised their swords, but before things could escalate, Sheppard moved and threw himself between Todd and their unexpected welcome party.

“Ho, ho, ho, don't do anything stupid!” he shouted as he lifted his sidearm, “we're not here to cause any trouble! Todd belongs to me, and he won't harm you, I promise you. He's our friend and no threat to you!”

Hearing Sheppard call him his friend aroused a strange tingling deep in Todd's abdomen, and even though he could defend himself against the settlers easily enough as three of them were still looking more like boys then real men and rather inexperienced, he decided to remain motionless and let Sheppard talk to them for the start. They would need their help with the energy source for the dialing console anyway, and Sheppard was right that he didn't have any intention to harm them.

One thing he'd learned when it came to John Sheppard was that he'd better always be freshly fed when he joined him on an off-world mission, and he'd taken care of that need thoroughly before they had started their newest adventure, so he should be safe for the next few weeks at least.

McKay had been too surprised to react for a couple of seconds when the five soldiers had appeared out of the blue, but he stepped beside Sheppard now to block the way as well, and Todd felt touched how worried these two men were about his well-being. The blue-eyed genius had lost his fear that Todd would feed on him somewhere during the weeks when they had been working side by side to bring Atlantis back to Pegasus, and he was actually the one treating him like a real teammate now, opposite to the former runner Ronon Dex, the Athosian leader Teyla Emmagan and John Sheppard himself.

“Colonel Sheppard is telling the truth,” McKay now came to Todd's help, his voice a bit shaky, but firm and determined. “Todd is one of the good guys, and he's freshly fed, he won't hurt you.” The effect of his calming words were diminished as he turned his head to gaze up at his tall companion.

“You _are_ freshly fed, Todd, aren't you? You're not looking for a tasty dinner at the moment?”

The ancient Commander felt amusement despite the weapons pointed at him, and he tilted his head and bared his teeth to wolfish grin. “Your inspiring company and agile mind will be saturating enough for the time being, Dr. McKay. You do not need to fear for the lives of these friendly people, as I don't hunger for their surely very tasty life-force, but only for their knowledge and help regarding our... hmm... 'small' problem to return to our own world again.”

McKay blushed and shot him an angry glare, but he nodded and cleared his throat. “You heard him, Todd doesn't want to have you as his dinner. Could you perhaps lower down your weapons now? They're making me feel nervous.”

The villagers hesitated but then indeed lowered their weapons down, but their leader was still eyeing them mistrustfully.

“I am Karyos, first guard of Old Haven. Who are you? There haven't been any strangers visiting our world for the past five generations at least, you must understand our first reaction, even more as you have brought a Wraith with you – the enemy we have sought shelter from on this world hundreds of generations ago. None of us have ever seen one in reality, but our ancestors wrote down our history and drew pictures of the events that led to their flight here, so the following generations wouldn't forget their origin and the threat waiting for them out there on other planets. We were just shocked when we saw... him.”

Sheppard took another step closer to Todd, but he lowered his machine gun down and smiled at Karyos.

“That's understandable, Karyos. We're still at wars with those Wraith factions that don't belong to Todd's Hives ourselves. I am Colonel John Sheppard, and this is Dr. Rodney McKay. We're coming from Atlantis, the City of the Old Lanteans, and we found the address to this world in one of their forgotten outposts. We came here without knowing that the DHD is not working, and we followed the small path that led us here in the hope to find something we can use as a power source for the DHD so we can return to Atlantis again.” the hazel-eyed colonel explained, and something flashed in Karyos' eyes.

“You come from the lost city? The gods must have blessed you! You are welcome in Old Haven, and we will do our best to help you. We have tried to leave this world again so many times, but we don't know anything about the blue portal and how it's truly working. Our ancestors knew how to use it and left us the address of the world they'd once come from, but if they ever knew how to repair it, then their knowledge is gone together with them. We have electricity and use batteries, but I don't think that they can provide the blue portal with enough energy to open up from this side.”

“Thank you, we'd love to see your village and get to know you better, and I have faith in Rodney that he will be able to come up with one of his genius ideas and use your batteries as a proper energy source for the Stargate,” Sheppard accepted Karyos' invitation with smile and a nod, but he stayed close to Todd as they were walking towards the village, just as if he was fearing that the younger guards would yet try to attack and harm him.

“I'm touched that you're so worried about my well-being, Sheppard,” the ancient Commander stated, and the colonel's familiar scent spiked with his embarrassment. Todd inhaled it deeply, and it took him all of his self-control not to show his true feelings when it came to the remarkable human that was walking by his side.

“Don't flatter yourself, Wraith, it's only because of the sermon I'll have to endure when Woolsey sees that I come home without you. I want to avoid that if possible.” The colonel hissed under his breath, but his cheeks were still warm, and the pheromones he had no control of gave him away.

The ancient Commander allowed himself a small tender and appreciative smile when he was sure that Sheppard wasn't looking, but he became serious again when 'his' human peered up at him under dark lashes. “Of course, Sheppard. I understand perfectly why you would want to avoid finding yourself in the center of one of Mr. Woolsey's long speeches. So your motives to protect me and play the role of my bodyguard are not entirely selfless.”

“Hrmpf!” Sheppard resorted to just scowling at him before he went back to scanning the village with the eyes of the trained and wary soldier, and Todd enjoyed himself by watching him for a few seconds. He'd been aware of his deep feelings for the human with the messy dark hair and the hazel-green eyes for a long time, and the signs Sheppard unconsciously gave away each time they came close to one another were fueling his hope that the man would finally acknowledge and accept his own feelings and desire for him, but it hadn't happened so far. Todd could be patient, and he'd never thought of pushing his human brother so far, but even the seemingly endless patience of an immortal Wraith would finally run out one day, and it became harder to keep his distance to Sheppard with each day that passed.

“I will bring you to our mayor Morigan, Colonel Sheppard,” Karyos now said, distracting Todd from the dangerous path his thoughts had taken, “she will be pleased to have you as her valued guests.”

“Thank you, Karyos,” Sheppard thanked him as they entered the village, which was actually more a town than just a village as they could now see. It must have once been bigger, and it lay in safe distance from the large river in case that the water would burst its banks at high watermark, surrounded and protected by the green hills that lined that broad grassy shores at each side of the river.

Men and women were hurrying along the streets and turning their heads to regard the newcomer curiously, and several of them shied away when their eyes fell on Todd's tall figure, the mothers grabbing their children to hide them behind their skirts with a shocked shrieking sound.

Todd knew better than to scare or provoke them with a toothy grin and simply ignored them, his gaze fixed on Sheppard's back who was walking in front of him and smiling soothingly at the residents of Old Haven - how Karyos had called his hometown. It would be interesting to know whether or not there was also a village with the name New Haven somewhere, because he could see several piers with boats and ships visible in the distance, and which appeared to be cargo ships of some sorts.

The street they were using took a turn and the harbor went out of sight. The road was broader now, lined with neat white and half-timber houses at each side of it, and it led directly to the biggest house at the end of it. It was half-timber house like most of the others, but with three stores instead of just two, and the Wraith assumed that it was the town hall of Old Haven. Karyos' four underlings were walking behind them as they approached the building, and the Wraith could smell their fear, a stench so familiar to him that he could usually ignore it better than he was doing right now.

This time it was actually harder to do so for some unknown reasons, and the pressure in his mind was stronger again, filling him with nervous anticipation and hunger. He was freshly fed and shouldn't feel his hunger grow so quickly again, but it was hard to deny, and it mingled with his vigorously suppressed desire for Sheppard and twisted in his guts to something sharp, dark and dangerous that was tempting him to grab the next best human and slam his feeding hand right into their chest.

The ancient Commander gritted his teeth and balled his fists, grateful for the iron self-control he'd built up over ten thousand years, especially during the ten years in Kolya's dungeon.

“Morigan is not only our mayor, she is also the keeper of our old scripts and will tell you more about our history.”

Karyos knocked on the wooden door when they reached the house, and they had to wait for a few seconds until it opened to reveal two armed wardens.

“Are you at war with your neighbor city that you need to protect your mayor with armed guards like this?” Todd asked, addressing Karyos directly for the first time. The wardens gasped out and paled at the sound of his multi-toned voice, but Sheppard raised a calming hand at them.

“He's no threat to you, you have my word on that. But I wanted to ask you the same thing.” the colonel said, and Karyos looked surprised.

“How can you know about our neighbor village when you have never been here before?” he wanted to know, his eyes narrowed in mistrust.

Sheppard exchanged a quick glance with him and with McKay. “You named your town 'Old Haven'. I think it to be likely that there must be a 'New Haven' then as well?”

An expression of sorrow flickered over Karyos' angular features. His hair was a mixture of brown and gray, and his sharp brown eyes were the eyes of a man who'd seen too much in his angular and weather-beaten face.

“You're right with that, Colonel Sheppard. Our ancestors were many thousands of people when they arrived in this world, but there are little more than a few thousands of us left in two of former ten large cities. Our city Old Haven was the first city they'd built in close distance to the blue portal, always hoping that one day they would find a way to open it again, and those who didn't want to stay but explore their new home built boats and ships to let the river carry them away. They built nine more cities at its shores, but there is only one of them left, and you're right that its name is indeed 'New Haven'. Morigan will tell you more, it is her duty as the keeper of the old scripts to tell you our story... Wraith,” Karyos explained, talking to Todd as he'd been the first one to ask about their neighbors.

Todd bowed his head politely. “I will not feed on your people, Karyos. As long as they won't try to attack me, no harm shall come to any of them from my hand. And you may either use the honorable name Colonel Sheppard gave me – Todd – or call me Commander if you prefer that because that is my rank among my own kin.”

“High Commander,” McKay threw in, and Todd smiled at him.

“That, too, Dr. McKay. But Commander will do just fine as I didn't come here as a High Commander, but as a humble visitor asking for help like you and Colonel Sheppard did.”

“Do Wraith even know the meaning of the word 'humble'?” McKay mused aloud, and Todd gazed down at him.

“I cannot speak for all of my brethren, but I do, human. But these kinds of philosophic talks will not help us with our current problem of being stuck in this beautiful paradise, and it would be impolite to let Mayor Morigan wait for much longer, don't you think so?”

“You're right, Todd,” Sheppard ended the discussion before it had even really began, gesturing towards the entrance to the house.

“After you, Karyos, we're really eager to meet your mayor and learn more about your history,” he said, and Todd could only agree to that statement.

*~*~*

Mayor Morigan was an impressive woman who looked too young to have such silver-blond and almost white hair as she actually possessed. She wore her shimmering thick mane tamed into two thick long braids which were slung around her head to something that reminded Todd of a crown, and her simple but beautiful white dress was tailored like a long coat and granted her comfortable legroom to walk and move freely. The tight pants she wore underneath were white, too, and the high collar of the dress accentuated her swan-like neck.

Her eyes were of a dark green color and shone like precious gems in the sunlight that was falling through the windows into her office. She'd awaited them sitting behind her large desk, but someone must have informed her about their arrival because she didn't look surprised but simply regarded them attentively for a moment before she rose to her feet with natural grace to welcome them in her house.

“Welcome in Old Haven, Colonel Sheppard, Dr. McKay - and Commander Todd,” she addressed them, revealing with the fact that she knew their names that she'd indeed awaited them. Todd chided himself that he hadn't paid better attention to Karyos and the citizens as they had walked through the town, but it was hard for him to concentrate on more than his close surroundings with the headache the strange pressure in his head caused. If he hadn't known it better, than he'd say that there was another Wraith hiding somewhere on this planet, but that couldn't be as Karyos would surely have told them about the other Wraith if that was actually the case.

The first guard of Old Haven had recognized him as Wraith from the old paintings he'd seen, but if he'd ever encountered a hungry Wraith personally, his reaction would have been a different one, Todd was sure of that.

He bowed his head before the tall woman and accepted her choice of addressing him without objection. “Thank you for welcoming us in your town, Lady Morigan,” he said, and the irritated frown he earned himself from Sheppard at his own use of title for her pleased him more than he wanted to admit.

Morigan's warm chuckle eased the tension that had filled the room at first, and she pointed to her desk. “Please have a seat, we will be more comfortable this way. Karyos, please have one more chair brought to my office for Commander Todd.”

“Wraith don't require chairs to the same extent as humans do, Lady Morigan,” Todd felt obliged to point out, but the mayor just snorted amicably.

“It's for my own comfort, Commander Todd. I don't want to have to crane my neck to see your face.”

Todd had already expected that answer, but their playful banter distracted him from his headache, and he took almost childish pleasure in riling a certain dark-haired colonel up with his flirtatious behavior towards their host. Seeing Sheppard's pout and irritation made up for all the times his human brother had threatened to kill him at least a little bit, and it also served to assure Morigan of his friendly intentions, so he was killing two birds with one stone this way.

Karyos waved at one of his men, and the young guard hurried to carry out the silent order of his superior and came back to the office with another comfortably looking armchair.

It took them a moment to arrange themselves on their respective seats in front of the desk, and Todd was fine with leaning back in his chair and let Sheppard and McKay do the talking how they'd come to this world while he was watching Morigan under heavy lids.

Morigan was listening quietly to the explanations, only nodding her head a few times to show that she was paying close attention to their story. When Sheppard was done with retelling the events that had led them here, silence fell over the room for a few minutes before Morigan cleared her throat.

“You're the first visitors coming to this world within the last hundred years at least, probably even longer. The last ones who came here by accident could never return to their own home world and had to stay here. I'm afraid that you will be stuck here just like them as we don't know anything about how the blue portal works and how to repair what you call the DHD.”

“We're not about to give up that easily,” Sheppard objected, “Rodney is a genius and has repaired other DHDs several times successfully. All we need is an energy source that is powerful enough to either make the dialing console work again – or perhaps even operate the Stargate itself manually. If you'll grant us access to your technology, especially to the electric batteries Karyos has mentioned, then I'm sure that we'll find a solution. Your people would benefit from the Stargate as well as you were able to visit the planet you have once come from – or visit other worlds and trade with them. Karyos told us that there had once been ten large towns along your river, and that there are only two left now.”

Todd watched how Morigan's beautiful ageless features closed up. “It was not upon him to tell you all of this,” she said, her tone colder now as it had been after their arrival. “Plus, we don't need to trade with other worlds, we have everything we need here, and we're trading with our neighbor city New Haven on a regular basis when the river carries enough water for our bigger boats which have more draft than the others. That happens every few months. Our home is here on New Edony now, and we don't wish to return to Eden from where our ancestors fled here because of the Wraith.” She gave Todd a long appraising glance, and he looked back at her without blinking.

“New Edony is a beautiful world, but you seem to be in trouble considering the guards you're surrounding yourself with, Lady Morigan,” he stated, and she lifted her chin up and rose to her feet.

“This is none of your business, Commander Todd,” she informed him, “you will get access to our technology to search for a power source that will help you to return to your own world – as we can't allow you to live among us and feed on our people, but we Edonians will stay here where our home is and not leave this planet.”

Morigan stood before the window and the sunlight was surrounding her like a halo, shining onto her strange Wraith-like silver-blond hair. The color of her eyes had changed and shone almost orange-golden now, and the pressure on Todd's mind made it hard for him to keep his focus.

“Thank you for your concession, Madam.” Sheppard's voice was sharp and thankfully brought Todd back to his senses again. The colonel had gotten up to his feet as well, his hand on his sidearm and his expression carefully controlled. “It's getting late, and we would be grateful for some rest before we'll start working on the DHD together with your help. Is there an inn or another place where we can stay for the night?”

The Edonian mayor blinked and looked as if she was waking up from a dream for a moment, and her eyes returned to their normal color as she smiled at them with much more warmth than she'd shown just seconds ago.

“Of course, Colonel Sheppard. Karyos' brother is the innkeeper of the tavern _'Blue River'._ You will find comfortable beds and hearty meals there. Consider yourself my guests there for the length of your stay here on New Edony, I will pay for the costs.”

“Thank you for your generosity, Madam,” McKay made himself known, rubbing his hands with glittering eyes. “I could do with something to eat as long as there won't be any citrus fruits involved,” he said with hopeful eyes, and the female mayor tilted her head questioningly.

“What are citrus fruits, Dr. McKay?” she inquired, and Sheppard rolled his eyes and pulled at McKay's arm.

“Nothing you needed to think about, Madam,” the dark-haired colonel assured her. “We'll take you up on your offer and search for the _'Blue River'_ tavern to stay there tonight. If you were so kind to show us your power sources and batteries tomorrow so we can start working on a solution?”

Morigan nodded her head in agreement. “Karyos will show you the way to the tavern and pick you up tomorrow morning,” she promised, “his shift is ending now anyway.” She smiled at the first guard of her city. “If you were so kind to bring our guests to your brother and make sure that they will have everything they'll need, my friend?”

Which meant that she wanted her confidant to keep a close eye on them and make sure that they would behave and not stick their noses in things she wanted to keep a secret from them as far as Todd was concerned.

“Of course, Mayor Morigan,” Karyos accepted her order, beckoning Todd and his companions to follow him.

They did, following him through the streets of Old Haven again without speaking, each of them busied with their own thoughts. Something mysterious was going on here, and Todd had the suspicion that they would find out what it was sooner rather than later because Sheppard had the annoying habit to run into trouble almost where he went, and this time of all times would surely not be the exception from that rule, that much was clear.

**Author's Note:**

> Feedback would make me very happy! <33


End file.
